This invention relates to vessels which are used for washing and rinsing produce, such as fruit and vegetable products, before they are eaten raw or cooked.
The washing of fruit and vegetables is normally conducted in a kitchen sink because of its source of water and its drain for draining off the water in the course of the washing process. Well before the advent of the installation of garbage disposals in sink drainlines, fruit and vegetables were being washed in drain pans which had a plurality of drain holes in the bottom. Drain pans of this type allow a flow-through washing of the fruit and vegetables. Debris which was too large to pass through the drain holes was collected in the bottom of the pan and disposed of in a garbage receptacle after the washed fruit and vegetables had been removed from the top of the pan. Frequently, the holes in the bottom of the pan would become clogged with debris so that the water in the pan would overflow into the sink, allowing the debris to float to the surface of the water and then flow into the drain clogging the drain.
After the introduction of garbage disposal units in the drains of sinks, it became common practice to rinse off the fruit or vegetables in a sink so that the debris would be washed off and would flow down the sink drain into the garbage disposal. However, a large number of homes do not have garbage disposals because their sewage systems cannot digest all of the material that could be flushed through the garbage disposal. Moreover, even for those homes which do have disposals, the debris that accumulates upon the washing of wild berries, vegetables and fruits having fibrous leaves, stems, or the like may clog the garbage disposal unit or cause it to jam.
Consequently there is a need for a washing and draining vessel which may be placed in a sink to contain fresh fruit and vegetables while they are being washed and rinsed and to separate and retain the debris which results from washing process.